Couples
by Donna and ABs

Temperance and Walter McBain had been bowled over by the crowd in the church, but even that did nothing to prepare them for the masses at their wedding party! Some, like the vampires, had been unable to make the church, but now that the sun was down, they made their way toward the happy couple to give their best wishes.

The wait of a couple of days paid off. Not only the vampires and their human lovers, but most of the weres were also down from Esperanza, and everyone from
Collinwood, as well! Melissa and Giles had had Cody ride up to Camelot, and apart from a skeleton crew to see that Camelot was not raided again, the knights and
ladies had also made the trip. Everyone loved a party.

And this one was festive and happy! Most who remembered the May Day
celebration, just a month before, rushed to Edan because they knew they would have a good time. And considering the illness that had befallen the city in the intervening time, it seemed only too appropriate to be celebrating now that no one had died.

One thing that caused a buzz was that King Arthur now had a wife of his own! Seeing Queen Guinevere being escorted by her royal husband to join the party, Melissa grabbed Vanessa and Endora's hands to go introduce her. She couldn't take Hydra though, because her sister was over with Father Herrera, trying her best to talk him into dancing with her!

"I haven't told anyone what I am," Melissa said. "Now that you've fully formed, don't tell anyone you're fae unless they already know." Both girls agreed; they would have to start living as humans now that they were out of the Garden anyway.

Lady Guinevere greeted Melissa with a hug. "I've missed you, Melissa!" she said. Her husband smiled at her and then after kissing his wife on the cheek, told her he was off to search for the Royal Court Physician to speak to him. Guinevere watched him go, love in her eyes that matched the soft glow on her face.

"I am glad that you are happy," said Melissa. "Though I hope wedded bliss does not cool your fire for other adventures." She smiled. "Speaking of Adventures, I wonder what the King wants with my Giles?"

The Queen blushed and leaned over and whispered into Melissa's ear something that made the pretty blonde clap her hands and then hug Guinevere fiercely.

"Oh dear Queen! Let us hope that this means what we both wish it to mean!"

Meanwhile, Giles was listening to Arthur explain the situation. "That was quick," the young doctor smiled. "So Camelot is to have an heir at last?"

"One may only hope so, good physician," the King said. "But with the stress of the attack...," he paused, letting the words trail off. After their wedding night, he had found out for sure that she had been untouched, and for that he was extremely thankful. "Will you be returning with us to Camelot come the dawning?"

"If you need me. How long has it been since your wedding," he asked, concerned now that the missed period was not what they all hoped.

"Nine glorious days, good physician, nine absolutely marvelous days. She told me only this morn that her moon time was due but had not come as of yet," he said with a grin. "But if it is not what we hope, there will be other months."

Giles smiled reassuringly. "It is rather soon to know. But who knows, maybe you got very lucky." He looked at Melissa, happily talking to her sisters. He knew he was. "And now, why don't we take advantage of the night, and the music, and dance with our lovely ladies?" He indicated Melissa, so the King would understand why he was anxious to be away, and not think him rude. "Later I'll see if it is all right for me to return to Camelot. Permanently. The next wedding will be mine!"

The King clapped him on the back, nearly knocking him off balance. "Go! Have fun! I believe I shall take a turn dancing with the beautiful woman God has blessed me with." Chuckling he turned, striding back towards his bride. As usual, his bodyguard, Sarak was close behind him. When the King took Guinevere by the hand and joined the others dancing, Sarak shuffled his feet for a moment, then walked over and whispered something in the ear of the woman with the tattooed face. She looked surprised for a moment, and then nodded, and together the two of them joined the dancers as well.

Melissa saw Sarak and Ceirdwyn dancing, and she laughed in Giles' ear. "Them next?" she asked. He looked, saw the strange couple, and joined her in laughter.

The Camelotians were not the only ones making strange couples. Hydra was nothing if not persistent, and when the other priests urged Herrera to be "friendly", he had no other option than to dance with her. Fathers Ralph and Philip stood aside, chuckling at
their new colleague's discomfort, but both were thinking the same thought. What if they allowed Hydra's water to "cure" them?

After getting Father Herrera settled in the day he had arrived, Ralph had all but pounced on his fellow cleric, Philip, wanting to know who the dark haired woman with the lovely Irish accent was and where she had been hiding. Eventually, he had been able to dig the truth out for Philip, and now he knew everything about the secret garden and the fairies as well. Once Herrera was practically dragged out to the dancing area by Hydra, Ralph did not hesitate. He headed straight over to where Hope was standing, talking to Fiona and a few other women. Philip was right behind him, and as Ralph took Hope out dancing, Philip did the same with Fiona, leaving Fae, Vanessa and Endora looking around for possible partners themselves.

This was not difficult, as there were many men. When the Three took a break, leaving the music to Joe and Finney, Colonel Paul shyly approached Vanessa. Fae was dancing with Neil Byrne, and Endora had Nathaniel!

Tom Kirby snagged Charity for one lively song, and soon there was a little competition between them, Katherine and Connor, and a few other couples to see who could do the best *dirty dancing*. Most of the people watching on the sidelines were loudly encouraging them all, but there was one in particular who wasn't enjoying the sight very much.

That was Sam Grey, who was seeing his troth go down the drain. Charity lived with him, but she didn't seem to be very interested in him. Maybe she was too used to him? Either way, whenever Tom Kirby came by, she seemed to light up. He remembered how close she'd seemed to be with the vet the last party they'd had!

He bit his lip, remembering the one time that she had shared his bed with him. He had just held her that night, not wanting to take advantage of her rather shaky emotional state at the time. And since then, he had not pressed her to return. Maybe she thought that he wasn't interested in her that way! Well, if that was the case, maybe it was way past time to let her know that he was!

He was sure, however, that he would not be able to duplicate THAT kind of dancing, so when Joe and Finney broke into a slow bluesy number, he went to cut in. It took him several tries and a lot of throat clearing, but finally he tapped Tom's shoulder. "Can a chap cut in?" he asked nervously.

"Sure!" Tom said with a grin, swatting Charity on her behind as he spun her into Sam's arms. She melted into them, molding her body close as they slow danced.

"Hmmm, nice," she mumbled, her breath hot against his neck and her breasts flattened against his chest. "You're a good dancer Sam." The farmer was at a loss
for words, but as he glanced around, he saw that quite a few of the other men were taking what he considered to be liberties with their hands. She hadn't seemed to
mind very much when the vet had swatted her backside. Swallowing hard, he took a chance and let his hand slide down her back until it was resting on exact same
spot that Kirby had just slapped.

She snuggled in closer, and he was reacting to her body. She looked up, and the moonlight caught her eyes. He smiled tentatively, not wanting to appear too forward. Finally he said, "You like him, don'ja."

She shrugged, the motion causing her front side to do marvelous things against his chest as they danced. "He's fun to be with when he is in a party mood," she said honestly. "But we would kill each other if we ever tried to do more than an occasional horizontal tango. If you are wanting to know if I plan on moving in with him, the answer is no. I don't think he would even ever ask me!" She laid her head back down, and to his surprise, her hands drifted down as well to rest on his butt while they danced!

He gulped, and she felt it. She was feeling something else, too. But he was too much of a gentleman to mention he was "in the mood." "D'yer," he began, then cleared his throat and began again, "D'yer like livin' wif me?"

"Yes," she breathed against his chest. "If I didn't I would have moved out a long time ago. Sam..." she paused, hunting for the right words. "Sam, do you want me to be with you?"

"Ever' minute," he said honestly. "Specially like this."

"Kiss me then," she said, her dark eyes shining in the moonlight and her head tipped up to his. "Kiss me now. Show me how much you want me. It's what I've been waiting for!"

He wasn't married, but he wasn't a virgin, either. He knew his way around a kiss. He just had never tried to seduce a proper lady, as Charity so obviously was. Leaning down, he lifted her chin so she was ready to take his embrace, and then, very slowly, he pressed his lips to hers. It was heaven.

"Yes," she said simply when it was over. "Yes." But that one word was full of unspoken promise. Melting into his embrace again, Charity continued to dance with the man she had lived with for so long, but had never really gotten to know.

They weren't the only ones dancing so close you couldn't have placed anything between them. Not far from Sam and Charity, to everyone’s amusement, Hydra
and Herrera were in a very similar position!

"My dear woman," said the priest, "I have taken a vow to uphold the law of our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ, and to eschew all earthly pleasures of that sort!"

"So," Hydra said slowly, "your Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ, does not like men to love women?"

"No, just not the ones who have made a vow otherwise."

"I thought it was good to make babies? I was reading the book in the church . . . 'Be Fruitful and Multiply.' Didn't it say that?"

"Yes! Oh, you don't understand!" And the poor confused man pulled away and stalked toward the Mission.

She stood and watched him go, her hands on her hips as she shook her head. But she had chosen him and one way or another, she was going to cure him of that nasty
condition that Fiona had told her was called celibacy!